Is the Stork Flying for Silvio Berlusconi?

A well-timed childbirth may turn into a decisive political win for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, as he faces a crucial confidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday.

The fate of Italy’s center-right government, headed by the 74-year-old media tycoon, is hanging by a few votes, including those of three heavily pregnant deputies expected to oppose the ruling coalition.

The three MPs don’t know yet whether they will be able to attend Tuesday’s key confidence vote in the Lower House, a vote that could seal the end of Berlusconi’s fourth government.

The Italian premier no longer enjoys a built-in majority in the Lower House since Gianfranco Fini, the Lower House speaker and co-founder of Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, broke with him amid a string of scandals and political divisions.

The no-confidence vote is on a knife-edge, with the latest estimates suggesting that 313 MPs will vote for it and 314 against, with two as yet undecided.

The uncertainty is such that the state of health of the three pregnant MPs — two from Fini’s rebel movement, Giulia Bongiorno and Giulia Cosenza, and Federica Mogherini from the center-left opposition — is being anxiously monitored.

“If Marta decides to be punctual and the labor starts today, there’s nothing I can do,” said opposition deputy Mogherini, in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica on Monday. “But if she waits until Tuesday at midday, then it’s done: I’ll vote.”

Tuesday’s vote is being closely watched by financial markets worried by the euro-zone debt crisis, as a prolonged period of uncertainty or a bitter election campaign could hurt Italy’s already strained public finances. Despite a public debt standing at almost 120% of gross domestic product, Italy has won praise in Europe for its tight control of public spending, which has left the country with a budget deficit that is lower than the euro-zone average.

Speaking in the Senate a day before the vote that could force him to resign and pave the way to early elections, Berlusconi stressed his government had succeeded in preserving the Italian economy from the financial turmoil, but warned that the threat of instability is still looming.

“The last thing Italy needs is a political crisis,” he said, appealing to senators to be “politically responsible” and renew confidence in him and his government.

Berlusconi pledged that, in case he passes the no-confidence test, he would open up his government to “moderate forces” from the center and center-right.

While the so-called “doves” among his political opponents may snub his call, the stork may deliver. Just in time.

Comments (2 of 2)

a nice place for seeking interr acial love.which gives you a chance to make your -life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive sin gles and treat you like a king or Q-ueen. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends !!

Thanks for reading The Source. We would like to direct you to MoneyBeat, the Wall Street Journal’s brand new global blog. MoneyBeat unites MarketBeat, The Source, Overheard and all the Deal Journal blogs, bringing together all the market, M&A, IPO and hedge-fund news from those blogs into a 24-hour hub for finance news. Check it out and let us know what you think at moneyblog@wsj.com.